Re: Florida Senate Judiciary approves repeal of church state separation

It sounds like the beginning of a joke: A Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a
Rabbi walk into the Florida Legislature, and the Governor says "Why the long
face?"

Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |*
*


On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 2:35 PM, <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> I wonder if this bill will survive.
>
> *Florida Senate Judiciary approves repeal of church state separation*
> Yesterday The Senate Judiciary committee approved a bill that would
> effectively tear down the separation of church and state in Florida. On a
> party line vote of 5 to 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved SRJ
> 1218 - the Religious Freedom
> <http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/1218>bill and sent it on to the
> Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs. Members of Americans
> United for Separation of Church and State (AU) in Florida have mobilized
> against the passage of this bill and it’s companion H 1471<http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/1471>where it is scheduled for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee
> tomorrow.
>
> SJR 1218, which was sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) and
> endorsed by the entire Republican caucus, would delete a constitutional
> provision that bars Florida from spending public revenues on sectarian
> religious organizations. Supporters of the bill claim that prohibiting
> government from funding religious groups discriminates against religious
> groups.
>
> Taking the lead for Americans United in Florida are a Baptist minister
> (Rev. Harry Parrott), a Presbyterian minister (Rev Harold Brockus) and a
> Rabbi (Rabbi Merrill Shapiro). The three of them sent a letter to Florida
> legislators on Monday asking them not to tear down the wall separating
> church and state in Florida.In their letter they state, ““Ending this
> prohibition on government aid, which has been in place for 126 years, puts
> our State in the business of religion.  And as a consequence, our tax
> dollars could go to support a religious organization or school with tenets
> and teachings that contradict our own, and our religious liberty would be
> violated.”
>
> Obviously, Republicans in Florida have decided they know what’s best for
> religious groups in Florida and they aren’t going to let a little religious
> opposition to their plans get in the way of their desire to see that their
> favored religious groups receive state tax payer funding at the expense of
> everyone’s religious freedom.
>
> There are many reasons why Republicans want to repeal the “no aid”
> provision of Florida’s constitution, known as the Blaine Amendment. Their
> reasons include their desire to include sectarian religious education in our
> public schools and their desire to fund specific favored religious
> organizations while defunding public organizations that benefit all
> Floridians.
> The House Judiciary committee is scheduled to vote on this bill tomorrow,
> Thursday April 14th.
>
> *For more information and to contact your senators and house
> representatives, visit:*
> http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/
> http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives<http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx>
>
>  Thom
> http://thomwade.wordpress.com/
> http://www.cafepress.com/Thomwade
> http://www.in-one-ear.com
> _______________________________________
> "I want a song to learn and sing, of a life requited."-Echo & the Bunnymen
>
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